South Indian Mackerel

This dish is an ideal starter if you’re looking for a lighter way to start a curry – it’s got it’s roots in dishes we had when we visited Kerala a couple of years ago, and borrows from that area with the addition of a banana as a flavour – it’s sweet and a little spicy, but not so much that it overwhelms the fish. This recipe is a starter and uses mackerel, but would also work well with meatier fish like monkfish, or even scallops.

Ingredients 
(Serves 4) 
For the fish
4 small fish – mackerel or similar
A little plain flour for dusting, with a touch of turmeric and cumin added
Salt and pepper for seasoning
1/2 tsp cumin, yellow mustard seed, dried red chilli.

For the Sweet potatoes
1 medium sized sweet potato, cubed into 1.5cm cubes
1 Onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2cm root ginger finely sliced
50ml water
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp yellow mustard seed
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 dried red chilli
Pinch of turmeric (for colour only)
200 ml coconut milk (you can sub this with coconut block and increasing the quantity of water)
2 tbsp coriander leaf (for garnish)

For the bananas
2 bananas (the less ripe the better)
1 tsp amchoor (dried mango) powder
1 tsp cumin powder
Pinch of turmeric

Fillet the mackerel, removing the backbone and head completely.  The easiest way to do this (apart from getting your fishmonger to do it…) is to cut behind the gill with a thin filleting knife, then reverse the knife in the cut and slicing back down toward the tail – keep as close as you can to the back bone. Do this on both sides and you should get to nice fillets.  You can either slice our or pick out the rib bones and the small bones that run through the middle of the fillet.

Once boned, lightly season the fish and sprinkle the spice on to the flesh side of the fish, then leave in the fridge for an hour or two.

Fry the onions, garlic and ginger in about half the oil until tender.  Add the spices and sweet potato, tossing it until the sweet potato has picked up a little colour. Add a little water and cook until most if absorbed and a paste has formed, then add the dried chilli and coconut milk and simmer gently until the potato is fully cooked and the sauce has thickened and coated the rest.

Peel the bananas and slice them into 5mm thick slices (looks best if you go slightly diagonally, as this gives a longer slice).  Sprinkle with the spices then fry in a pan or on an oven tray until crispy.

Retrieve the mackerel fillets and dust the skin side with the flour mixture. Place skin-side down in a pan (heated to medium heat) with a little ghee or oil.  Press down the middle of each fillet for a few seconds as you place them so it doesn’t curl.  They should take just a couple of minutes to cook through – don’t turn them over, they should cook through from the skin side.

To serve, use a slated spoon to place some of the potato onto the middle of the place, then place two fillets in an X over the potato.  Serve the bananas round the edge of the potato and garnish with the coriander. You can also serve this with chapati, or for real authenticity, on a banana leaf.